1995 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1995 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Area
total area: 5,860 sq km land area: 5,640 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Delaware note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967
Climate
temperate, temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters
Coastline
0 km (landlocked)
Environment
current issues: NA natural hazards: NA international agreements: NA
International disputes
West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli occupied with interim status subject to Israeli/Palestinian negotiations - final status to be determined
Irrigated land
NA sq km
Land boundaries
total 404 km, Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km
Land use
arable land: 27% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 32% forest and woodland: 1% other: 40%
Location
Middle East, west of Jordan
Map references
Middle East
Maritime claims
none; landlocked
Natural resources
negligible
Note
landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 199 Jewish settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank and 25 in East Jerusalem (August 1994 est.)
Terrain
mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east
People and Society
Age structure
0-14 years: 46% (female 293,269; male 308,775) 15-64 years: 51% (female 335,193; male 337,722) 65 years and over: 3% (female 25,759; male 19,273) (July 1995 est.)
Birth rate
39.83 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate
4.84 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions
Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17%
Infant mortality rate
29.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Labor force
NA by occupation: construction 28.2%, agriculture 21.8%, industry 14.5%, commerce, restaurants, and hotels 12.6%, other services 22.9% (1991) note: excluding Jewish settlers
Languages
Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers), English (widely understood)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 71.42 years male: 69.91 years female: 73 years (1995 est.)
Literacy
NA%
Nationality
noun: NA adjective: NA
Net migration rate
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Population
1,319,991 (July 1995 est.) note: in addition, there are 122,000 Jewish settlers in the West Bank and 149,000 in East Jerusalem (August 1994 est.)
Population growth rate
3.5% (1995 est.)
Religions
Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8%
Total fertility rate
5.34 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Government
Digraph
WE
Names
conventional long form: none conventional short form: West Bank
Note
Under the Israeli-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arragements ("the DOP"), Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, and subsequently to an elected Palestinian Council, as part of interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho has taken place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area. A transfer of powers and responsibilities in certain spheres for the rest of the West Bank has taken place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 29 August 1994 Agreement on Preparatory Transfer of Powers and Responsibilities. The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility during the transitional period for external security and for internal security and public order of settlements and Israelis. Final status is to be determined through direct negotiations within five years.
Economy
Agriculture
olives, citrus and other fruits, vegetables, beef, and dairy products
Budget
revenues: $43.4 million expenditures: $43.7 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY89/90)
Currency
1 new Israeli shekel (NIS) = 100 new agorot; 1 Jordanian dinar (JD) = 1,000 fils
Economic aid
$NA
Electricity
capacity: NA kW production: NA kWh consumption per capita: NA kWh note: most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; at the same time, some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nabulus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants
Exchange rates
new Israeli shekels (NIS) per US$1 - 3.0270 (December 1994), 3.0111 (1994), 2.8301 (1993), 2.4591 (1992), 2.2791 (1991), 2.0162 (1990); Jordanian dinars (JD) per US$1 - 0.6995 (January 1995), 0.6987 (1994), 0.6928 (1993), 0.6797 (1992), 0.6808 (1991), 0.6636 (1990)
Exports
$217 million (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: olives, fruit, vegetables partners: Jordan, Israel
External debt
$NA
Fiscal year
calendar year (since 1 January 1992)
Imports
$867 million (c.i.f., 1992) commodities: food, consumer goods, construction materials partners: Jordan, Israel
Industrial production
growth rate NA%
Industries
generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
6.8% (1993)
National product
GDP - purchasing power parity - $4 billion (1994 est.)
National product per capita
$2,800 (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate
NA%
Overview
Economic progress in the West Bank has been hampered by Israeli military administration and the effects of the Palestinian uprising (intifadah). Industries using advanced technology or requiring sizable investment have been discouraged by a lack of local capital and restrictive Israeli policies. Capital investment consists largely of residential housing, not productive assets that would enable local Palestinian firms to compete with Israeli industry. GDP has been substantially supplemented by remittances of workers employed in Israel and Persian Gulf states. Such transfers from the Gulf dropped after Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990. In the wake of the Persian Gulf crisis, many Palestinians have returned to the West Bank, increasing unemployment, and export revenues have dropped because of the decline of markets in Jordan and the Gulf states. Israeli measures to curtail the intifadah also have added to unemployment and lowered living standards. The area's economic situation has worsened since Israel's partial closure of the territories in 1993.
Unemployment rate
35% (1994 est.)
Communications
Radio
broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 radios: NA; note - 82% of Palestinian households have radios (1992 est.)
Telephone system
NA telephones; note - 8% of Palestinian households have telephones (1992 est.) local: NA intercity: NA international: NA note: Israeli company BEZEK is responsible for communication services in the West Bank
Television
broadcast stations: 0; note - 1 planned for Jericho televisions: NA; note - 54% of Palestinian households have televisions (1992 est.)
Transportation
Airports
total: 2 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 1
Highways
total: NA paved: NA unpaved: NA note: small road network; Israelis have developed many highways to service Jewish settlements
Ports
none
Railroads
0 km
Military and Security
Branches
NA
Defense expenditures
$NA, NA% of GDP ________________________________________________________________________ WESTERN SAHARA